A Menu of Effective and Feasible Energy Solutions

Steps to Produce More Clean Energy and Grow the Economy

SOURCE: AP/Rick Bowmer

A wind plant supervisor looks at wind gauges on the top of a wind turbine at the PPM Energy wind farm, in Wasco, Oregon. Federal, state, and local policymakers, as well as the private sector, can take steps to produce more clean energy and grow the economy, reduce pollution while saving energy and dollars, and build more resilient and balanced economies and communities.

Below are concise guides for each federal, state, and local policymakers, as well as for the private sector, that outline actions that each group can take in 2012 to advance a clean energy agenda and strengthen our economy and resilience to the effects of climate change. These actions are taken from CAP’s white paper "Taking Action on Clean Energy and Climate Protection in 2012," where longer descriptions can be found on the page numbers specified in each respective guide below.

A menu of effective and feasible federal solutions for the administration

The Obama administration can take steps today that will help get us on the path toward achieving three critical goals:

Produce more clean energy and grow the economy.

Reduce pollution while saving energy and dollars.

Build more resilient and balanced economies and communities.

The federal actions outlined below would achieve these goals, which are critical for accelerating the new clean energy economic transformation that has already begun and for moving forcefully into a new economic era defined by stronger industries, better infrastructure, and a steadily growing middle class. We detail these recommendations in our paper “Taking Action on Clean Energy and Climate Protection in 2012.” Here are the federal highlights.

To generate a significant percentage of our energy from low-carbon sources, the Obama administration can:

Encourage combined heat and power projects and waste-heat recovery projects to control industrial pollution under new Clean Air Act standards – page 11

Form an action team at the Departments of Defense and Energy to increase the use of power-purchase agreements to achieve renewable electricity goals – page 11

To reduce the cost of clean energy deployment by attracting private investment, the Obama administration can:

Commit to a new 2013 through 2015 ramp-up period for financing international climate change reduction programs – page 18

To achieve oil savings, the Obama administration can:

To balance energy production with other economic and conservation priorities on public lands and waters, the Obama administration can:

Finalize and enact plan to safely site utility-scale solar power facilities on public lands – page 60

Support the National Ocean Council’s implementation of America’s national ocean policy – page 61

Create two new national monuments: Fort Ord in California and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in New Mexico – page 62

Ensure the “Smart from the Start” program, which expedites offshore wind, is smart through the finish – page 63

Certify the Powder River Basin in Wyoming as a coal production region – page 64

A menu of effective and feasible federal solutions for Congress

Congress can take steps today that will help get us on the path toward achieving three critical goals:

Producing more clean energy to grow the economy.

Reducing pollution while saving energy and dollars.

Building more resilient and balanced economies and communities.

The congressional actions outlined below would achieve these goals, which are critical for accelerating the new clean energy economic transformation that has already begun and for moving forcefully into a new economic era defined by stronger industries, better infrastructure, and a steadily growing middle class. We detail these recommendations in our paper “Taking Action on Clean Energy and Climate Protection in 2012.” Here are the federal highlights.

To generate a significant percentage of energy in our nation from low-carbon sources, Congress can:

To realize significant energy savings in all sectors of our economy, Congress can:

Create a “green” real estate appraisal standard to ensure that energy costs are included in mortgage underwriting – page 34

Encourage adoption of model building codes by states – page 34

To achieve oil savings, Congress can:

Pass a surface transportation bill that prioritizes funding for public transportation and transitoriented development – page 53

Enable federal agencies to finance advanced biofuels production for the U.S. military – page 53

To ensure climate resiliency and restoration, Congress can:

Restore the environment and economy of the Gulf Coast – page 57

A menu of effective and feasible state solutions

State policymakers can take steps today that will help get us on the path toward achieving three critical goals:

Produce more clean energy and grow the economy.

Reduce pollution while saving energy and dollars.

Build more resilient and balanced economies and communities.

The state actions outlined below would achieve these goals, which are critical for accelerating the clean energy economic transformation that has already begun and for moving forcefully into a new economic era defined by stronger industries, better infrastructure, and a steadily growing middle class. We detail these recommendations in our paper “Taking Action on Clean Energy and Climate Protection in 2012.” Here are the state highlights.

To generate a significant percentage of energy in our nation from low-carbon sources, state policymakers can:

To ensure climate resiliency and restoration, state policymakers can:

A menu of effective and feasible local solutions

Local governments can take steps today that will help get us on the path toward achieving three critical goals:

Produce more clean energy and grow the economy.

Reduce pollution while saving energy and dollars.

Build more resilient and balanced economies and communities.

The local government actions outlined below would achieving these goals, which are critical for accelerating the clean energy economic transformation that has already begun and for moving forcefully into a new economic era defined by stronger industries, better infrastructure, and a steadily growing middle class. We detail these recommendations in our paper “Taking Action on Clean Energy and Climate Protection in 2012.” Here are the local government highlights.

To generate a significant percentage of energy in our nation from low-carbon sources, local governments can:

To ensure climate resiliency and restoration, local governments can:

A menu of effective and feasible private-sector solutions

The private sector can take steps today that will help get us on the path toward achieving three critical goals:

Produce more clean energy and grow the economy.

Reduce pollution by saving energy and dollars.

Build more resilient and balanced economies and communities.

The private-sector actions outlined would achieve these goals, which are critical for accelerating the clean energy economic transformation that has already begun and for moving forcefully into anew economic era defined by stronger industries, better infrastructure, and a steadily growing middle class. We detail these recommendations in our paper “Taking Action on Clean Energy and Climate Protection in 2012.” Here are the private-sector highlights.

To generate a significant percentage of energy in our nation from low-carbon sources, private-sector leaders can: